Skins Draft Target, Round 3: Chris Canty

Rich Tandler

03/30/2005

Chris Canty was well on his way to an All-America season and first-round draft status before a serious knee injury knocked him out midway through his senior season. Will Gregg Williams want the Skins to take a chance on him?

Nice sized lineman that can be used at the left defensive end position or in a two-gap system. Heady defender who diagnoses the action then quickly locates the ball.

Weaknesses:

Lacked explosiveness of the ball even before a serious knee injury five games into his senior 2004 season.

Quick Take:

If the knee is fully healed, Canty could be a steal in the third round and perhaps even worth moving up to late in the second if there's a chance to get him there.

Rundown

Canty was having an All-America type of season for Virginia before he suffered a serious knee injury that ended his season. That knocked him down from what seemed to be certain first-round status into one that could have him slipping into the second day of the draft.

Canty is a heady defender who diagnoses the action then quickly locates the ball. He moves well laterally, chases in pursuit and rarely is off his feet. He easily holds his ground against blocks and works to get involved in the action. The end is strong at the point, physically beats down opposing lineman and makes positive plays.

At Virginia, Canty had limited opportunities to show off his pass-rushing abilities, so that is something that will need to be developed. To do this, he must improve his hand technique and create some moves.

While his knee injury is certainly a legitimate concern, one of the raps against Canty in a lot of the scouting talk going around is his durability. That does not seem to be justified. He did miss Virginia's bowl game following his sophomore season with an arm injury, but other than that he did not miss significant time due to his health until last year.

Fit With Redskins

Although Canty is talked about as a left end in a 3-4 defense in draft circles, he could be effective in Gregg Williams' 4-3 scheme. The defense doesn't rely heavily on the ends to generate a pass rush and Canty could occupy blockers and clear lanes for the blitzing linebackers and backs. That and his solid play against the run could make him a good target with the Redskins' third-round pick if he falls that far.

Nice sized lineman that can be used at the left defensive end position or in a two-gap system. Heady defender who diagnoses the action then quickly locates the ball.

Weaknesses:

Lacked explosiveness of the ball even before a serious knee injury five games into his senior 2004 season.

Quick Take:

If the knee is fully healed, Canty could be a steal in the third round and perhaps even worth moving up to late in the second if there's a chance to get him there.

Rundown

Canty was having an All-America type of season for Virginia before he suffered a serious knee injury that ended his season. That knocked him down from what seemed to be certain first-round status into one that could have him slipping into the second day of the draft.

Canty is a heady defender who diagnoses the action then quickly locates the ball. He moves well laterally, chases in pursuit and rarely is off his feet. He easily holds his ground against blocks and works to get involved in the action. The end is strong at the point, physically beats down opposing lineman and makes positive plays.

At Virginia, Canty had limited opportunities to show off his pass-rushing abilities, so that is something that will need to be developed. To do this, he must improve his hand technique and create some moves.

While his knee injury is certainly a legitimate concern, one of the raps against Canty in a lot of the scouting talk going around is his durability. That does not seem to be justified. He did miss Virginia's bowl game following his sophomore season with an arm injury, but other than that he did not miss significant time due to his health until last year.

Fit With Redskins

Although Canty is talked about as a left end in a 3-4 defense in draft circles, he could be effective in Gregg Williams' 4-3 scheme. The defense doesn't rely heavily on the ends to generate a pass rush and Canty could occupy blockers and clear lanes for the blitzing linebackers and backs. That and his solid play against the run could make him a good target with the Redskins' third-round pick if he falls that far.